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Joseph Kohlbeck, Resident Scientist at the Hercules Aerospace Center in Utah,
and Using a high-resolution microprobe, Levi-Setti and Kolbeck compared the
spectra of samples taken from the Shroud with samples of limestone from ancient
Jerusalem tombs. The chemical signatures of the Shroud samples and the tomb limestone were
identical except for some minute fragments of organic cellulous linen fiber that
could not be separated from the Shroud samples. Kolbeck acknowledges that this is not absolute proof that the Shroud was in
Jerusalem and that there might be other places in the world -- though none are
known and it is statistically unlikely any will be found -- where travertine
aragonite has the identical trace chemical composition. It is also slightly
possible though highly implausible that this dirt was applied by a forger. |
The
scientific study of the Turin shroud is like a microcosm of the
scientific search for God: it does more to inflame any debate than
settle it.”
And yet, the shroud is a remarkable artefact, one of the few religious relics to have a justifiably mythical status. It is simply not known how the ghostly image of a serene, bearded man was made.”
Scientist-Journalist Philip Ball Nature, that most prestigious of scientific journals, that once had bragging rights to claim that the Shroud was fake, responding to new, peer-reviewed studies that discredit the carbon 14 dating and show that the Shroud could be authentic. WHAT WE KNOW IN 2005
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